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Cauliflower Cheesy Bread – but there is no bread. What?

Oh, what a Monday!.  I shot a morning wedding yesterday.   The couple was super nice, very laid back and a real joy to work for, but dang that threw off my Sunday.  Surprise… I am a night owl! Midnight is usually the earliest that I go to bed.  What does that mean to you morning people?  It means there is only one- “6” in each day and it is not 6:00 am.  But yesterday required a 6am alarm and be out of the house by 7:00 am.   It was tough as I did not have time to consume my entire pot of morning coffee.  So I put on my best smile and away I went doing a great job for my clients.

Fast forward to 2:00pm.  The wedding is over and I was home.  Geeze, I was spent.  I got changed and I went out to our screened-in porch (aka “the church”) and I was asleep in about 2 seconds.  Three hours later, Gary woke me up with the pronouncement that Bryan & Craig would arrive in about 30 minutes for a wine, disco and a lot of laughing.

I hope that explains why The Monday Munch is arriving so late in your mailbox.

Cauliflower Cheesy Bread

One of my sister’s is highly gluten sensitive.  So when I am assigned a course for a dinner party, I try to take that into consideration.  Recently, I brought this appetizer to a dinner party that included her.  She promised me she would try it, because I learned that night that she does not like cauliflower.  OY!  Long story, short, she loved it.  Everyone loved it and it was quickly devoured. No one could believe that there was no “flour” holding this together.

This is super easy to make.  And it is gluten free.  Check this out.

 

cheesy cauliflower bread

Ingredients

1 large head cauliflower
2 large eggs
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
3 c. shredded mozzarella, divided
1/2 c. grated Parmesan
kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
pinch of crushed red pepper flakes (I would make this optional)
2 tsp. Freshly Chopped Parsley
Marinara, for dipping

Preparation

Preheat oven to 425º and line a baking sheet with parchment.  On a box grater or in a food processor grate the cauliflower until all is evenly grated.  Transfer cauliflower to a large bowl with eggs, garlic, oregano, 1 cup mozzarella, Parmesan, and season with salt and pepper. Stir until completely combined.  

cheesy cauliflower bread

Transfer dough to prepared baking sheet and pat into a crust. Bake until golden and dried out, 25 minutes. 

Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella, crushed red pepper flakes, and parsley and bake until cheese is melted, 5 to 10 minutes more.  Slice and serve.

Notes:

  • Recipe courtesy of delish.com
  • I used a food processor as it was super fast and easy.
  • Next time I make this I would place the grated cauliflower in a towel and squeeze out some of the water.  I don’t know yet how much but probably most.
  • Red Pepper Flakes are definitely optional.  Some did not like that surprise kick of heat.

 

  • The parchment paper held moisture on the bottom.  Use a non-stick sheet pan or cookie sheet instead with just a teaspoon of olive oil.  Rub it on pan with a paper towel. This should help to to crisp up the bottom and the edges.  However, the caramelized crust will still stick. so when you take out of the oven, place a large sheet of foil over the pan and tuck in the edges.  Leave it on for about 5 minutes.  Check to see if crust lifts.  If so just cut into squares and serve.  If not leave foil on for a few more minutes until the crust loosens. 
  • I did it both ways, with parchment and without and folks like the crispier one baked without parchment.

This is a definite “do-over” as we say in our family when we try new recipes.  Have fun with it.

PDF copy of the Recipe to Print: Cauliflower Cheesy Bread updated 2

6 Comments

  1. Ashley D

    Have you tweaked this recipe since publishing? Tried it last night. I can see the potential but wouldn’t make it again as directed above. Needs tweaking -just not sure how/what. I didn’t have enough batter to spread across a cookie sheet so it was a thin layer. The additional cheese layer was overwhelming and made the end result more like eating the top of a pizza only. I would love to use this again if I can get either a thicker or crisper ‘crust’

    • So sorry, it did not turn out to your liking. The cooking sheets that folks may use will vary in size. So do heads of cauliflower so the amount that is made can vary somewhat. That said, and perhaps I should have shared this, when I make this, I do not use the entire pan because I usually do not have enough “crust” to cover the entire sheet. Should you choose to make it again, I would only spread the crust out to the thickness that you desire and do not take it to the edge of the pan. I can see how spreading it too thin would be a problem. Lastly, cooking raw cauliflower and cheese to be “crispy” would be a challenge because the cheese could burn quickly. The only way I think it may be possible is if some sort of grain flour to the crust. I have tried this many times and it has always turned out as expected. Again, sorry that it was not to your liking.

  2. Lindsay

    Hello. Can you make the crust a day before? Hoping to make for Christmas Eve…thoughts?

    Thanks!
    Lindsay

    • I have not tried that but it should be fine. I would not use parchment paper and just oil your non-stick cookie sheet pan. Refrigerate overnight in the pan but bring to room temperature before finishing the baking.

  3. Deirdre

    Just wondering how many cups of grated cauliflower do you need just in case I’m feeling really lazy & buy the pre-grated stuff?

    Love your recipes!

    Thanks!

    Dee

    • That is a great question but I did not measure. Just so you know I did not use a grater. I quickly rinsed the head of cauliflower chopped out the core and pulled the florets apart and threw in the food processor. It was done in seconds.

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